Abhinav Ghirdar, CEO of Appy Pie, Explains ‘No Code and Low Code’ Tech for Startups

The pandemic turbo-charged entrepreneurialism in the United States, with the Census Bureau reporting business applications surged 24% in 2020-21. At least to some degree, the advent of “low code and no code” tech has contributed to that trend by removing a major barrier to entrepreneurs who aren’t techies using the technology they need to launch and run their startups.

No code and low code technology has opened the startup doors for anyone with the drive and desire to own their own business who isn’t a programmer or coder. These are the people who don’t have the launch budget to hire an expensive tech staff.

Abhinav (Abs) Ghirdar, founder and CEO of Appy Pie, the market leader in no and low code technology, is an advocate and educator for individuals seeking to make use of this door-opening technology opportunity. We asked him about his vision, and how it is playing out in the real world.

Grit Daily: First things first, can you explain what “no code and low code” technology is?

Abhinav Ghirdar: Low code and no code are two concepts taking over the technology world. Low code technology removes about 90% of the coding process. Low code technology reduces the development time by offering drag-and-drop tools. You don’t need specialized language knowledge as the groundwork is done for you. Low code platforms are more suited to developers who want to cut down on their GTM time. Developers can develop advanced mobile apps without specialists with narrow skills. Hence, if the developers have multiple tasks lined up, low code technology is a godsend!

No-code technology, on the other hand, is perfect for non-tech people. It includes entrepreneurs, business heads, citizen developers, students, and professionals from any field of expertise. A platform like Appy Pie requires absolutely no coding from the users but provides lego-like blocks that can simply be dragged and dropped into the app. No-code platforms can help you make apps from start to finish without the involvement of a developer.

Grit Daily: You state that your mission is to democratize application development and technology by empowering everyone to build digital products that meet their needs without any coding. Explain to us what this means and how this makes a difference to entrepreneurs?

Abhinav Ghirdar: Until a few years ago, I was running a new media agency where I often saw clients with brilliant ideas for their business, only to be held back by their lack of technical knowledge, resources, and time. At the time, application development was only for the big players with deep pockets because traditional application development required massive investments, time commitments, and a specialized skill set which were frankly out of reach for most entrepreneurs. This created a massive gap between the big and small.

The SMEs and entrepreneurs were looking for solutions that would help them realize their ideas without a) having to hire a specialized resource or acquiring a new skill, b) investing hundreds of thousands of dollars on application development, and c) spending months in coding and app development.

We deliberately designed an entirely no-code app builder. The platform needs absolutely no coding from the user’s end and is highly affordable as the plans start at $18/month. Also, it takes just a few minutes to make your app from start to finish. By removing skill, time, and money barriers, we have made it possible for just about anyone to make their own app.

Grit Daily: Security is a critical concern in the technology ecosystem. Does inviting entrepreneurs with little to no technical skills into the development and coding ecosystem leave projects vulnerable to cybersecurity threats?

Abhinav Ghirdar: As service providers, we know our clients very well. We know their usage patterns and weaknesses or vulnerabilities better than them. Hence, when we provide a no-code platform, we take into account the users’ inexperience with technology.

At Appy Pie, we take stringent security measures and are dedicated to ensuring there are no vulnerabilities in our processes at any stage.

Listed below are the certifications and compliance measures taken by AppyPie.com to ensure that our clients and your customers are protected from any unscrupulous activities.

• PCI DSS Compliance
• SOC 2 Attestation
• ISO 22301:2012
• ISO 27001:2013
• Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)
• GDPR compliance
• EU data transfer mechanism
• CCPA compliance
• Penetration test, Vulnerability Scanning & Patching through Amazon Inspector and Bishop Fox 
• Physical and Network Security
• Data Loss Protection through Endpoint Protector by CoSoSys
• Mobile security through Kryptowire’s Mobile Application Security Testing (MAST)

Grit Daily: I understand you have a next-generation technology that takes entrepreneurs beyond the “no coding” world. Can you explain how the verbal command-driven app creation tool you have in beta works – and how you see it changing the entrepreneurial marketplace?

Abhinav Ghirdar: Our voice-activated app development functionality is quite an exciting development, even for us – primarily because it has massive potential for our target user group. Now, a user can open our app and give voice commands on the interface to build the app they want for their business. You can do everything from entering your app name to choosing design themes, layouts, features, and more – simply by speaking into the interface!

Time is one of the most precious commodities for any entrepreneur, and that’s why multitasking becomes particularly important. The voice-activated functionality makes it possible for entrepreneurs (hard-pressed for time) to achieve more in less time. They can be on the way to a meeting and get done with creating an app without opening their laptops or tapping and typing continuously on their phone screens. Additionally, the platform is multilingual, which means all language barriers are shattered, and the mandate of speaking English to use a platform is dissolved.

Grit Daily: Let’s discuss the world of NFTs.  You’ve created an app that removes barriers so that consumers can create their own NFT. In reality, though, how much more do consumers need to know to actually successfully launch an NFT product?  And, with the pandemonium within the blockchain/crypto markets, do you see NFT creation as a sustainable source of creative and revenue generation?

Abhinav Ghirdar: Yes, we have given people a convenient platform to create their own NFTs. The process barely takes minutes, and the results are impressive. However, simply generating an NFT is not enough to launch the NFT in any marketplace. You need to research which marketplace will be best for your NFT, what should be the quoted price, do you want to auction them, what kind of auction do you want to hold, and so many other such details. Apart from these details, you will also have to plan your marketing activities and build a buzz and an audience. Creating a beautiful NFT does not guarantee a successful sale.

There are ups and downs in every market, as we are now witnessing in the NFT market. The rise has been meteoric in the past couple of years, and though there has been speculation and concern about the growth trajectory of NFTs in recent times, I see a lot of potential for the truly creative and gifted NFT makers and have recently written a piece about it here.